Actual Fantasy

Aardschok Magazine
December 1996

Stage life is more or less a finished chapter in the Arjen Lucassen book. That's why a year after the phenomenal Ayreon-project there is already a new disc. It may be remarkable that an artist releases another album exactly a year after the previous one, even more surprising is the fact that the new album is of similar outstanding quality. Because 'Actual Fantasy' is. However, the same high quality and the return of some familiar musicians are the only links between 'The Final Experiment' and 'Actual Fantasy'. Because, while this new project has also been released under the name Ayreon because of marketing strategies, the similarities are few and the differences large. Both the music and the artwork breathe a completely different atmosphere. That is typical for the artist Lucassen who doesn't like to repeat himself. Whereas the concept 'rock opera' was awaited with skepticism last year -wasn't that something outdated?- one can ask the same question about the combination of psychedelics and hi-tech synthwork, which seems an illogical combination at first Again Lucassen is able to convince the listener that unexpected things can give the best results. It characterizes the composing talents of the man that he is able to integrate very diverse musical influences into a whole.

It should be said though that 'Actual Fantasy' takes some more time to 'get into' than its predecessor. The fantasy world created here only reveals all its secrets after a couple of turns in the player. Not everybody will immediately be charmed by the Floyd-like passages in e.g. 'Abbey of Synn', 'Computer Eyes' or 'Far side of the World'. But is it the combination of heavy guitars and hypermodern synthesizers that gives the songs their power. The contrasts are complementary. The cooperation between these excellent vocalists and the sometimes-extreme use of effects on the vocals add to the extraordinary atmosphere of this CD. The seven tracks - all with duration of at least 6 minutes- are a paradise for every genuine music fan and while the album cannot be compared to 'The Final Experiment'; it has the same outstanding quality and is therefore also CD of the Month and Album of the Year. Or am I speaking before it's my turn to speak? Rating: 95/100.